Checkmate
by Oliver's Cupcakes
Summary: Toris is the King of Alabaster and is married to his lovely queen, Natalya. Things aren't as peaceful with their rival country Sable as it seems, though, and Toris discovers this when he falls for the pawn Felka. /Chess AU, oneshot Fem!Poland x Lithuania x Natalya. T for violence and character death.


Toris sighed, leaning out the window into the cool summer breeze. It played with his hair, gently tousling the soft chestnut strands and curling them softly around the silvery ivory crown that rested on his head. He was dressed casually; it felt wonderful to get away from the stress of the kingdom, even for a little while, and just _observe_. There was so much to look at. The rooks who stood guard by the castle doors, stoic faces staring into the winding streets, were a trivial matter; they reacted not even when young pawns made faces at them. Knights on milky white stallions making their way through the kingdom in almost ghostly robes were the country's best defense. And even regular people were interesting to watch; it'd been so long since Toris had been a pawn that it fascinated him to see them going about their everyday lives. How strange to think that while they had to buy and cook each meal, clean each room of their small houses, and craft clothes all on their own, a three course meal or a new wardrobe were at his beck and call. The memories from that time were all but completely hazed over now.

Back then, Alabaster was a weak country; constantly bullied by its neighboring kingdom of Sable. Even when it finally became strong it consistently had to push Sable back into submission. The previous king, Ivan Braginski, had not known another way to rule. To keep their enemies at bay they'd have to send out new forces almost weekly, and so Ivan consistently raised the kingdom's taxes, and Alabaster fell into poverty. All this was before Tori's decided to take a stand. He proposed he take a shot at ruling the kingdom, and publicly spoke his opinions of how it should be run, though it got him beat up more times than he'd like to count. It was about that time that Ivan began to worry for his position. He enforced new laws upon the kingdom, stating none should speak out against the king or the kingdom itself, but Toris refused to stand by and watch his country fall. He continued to announce his opinions and so he was taken into custody.

This was not enough to dampen his light. He was Toris Laurinatis, and by God, he was not going to be alive for the collapse of this nation! After three days of being in the dungeons, a small bird arrived in his cell from the window, holding a pen, ink and a blank peace of parchment. His friends had come through. He sighed a silent thank you to Eduard and Raivis, and began to write out another speech. The bird fluttered away with a 'piyo!' (The brunette had a feeling he knew the person from whom the bird had been borrowed) and Tori's was left alone once again. This went on for weeks; Eduard or Raivis would give his speech to the other pawns of the kingdom and then return the bird to him for another page. That is, it went on until Ivan's bishops discovered what was going on. King Braginski decided it would be safer if he could keep an eye on Toris, so he had his rooks punish him and enforce him into slavery. Toris shuddered to think of those nights that the whip found his back and he'd lost the energy to scream. It was worst when Ivan did it himself; he was truly a cruel king.

At the time, neither Toris nor Ivan realized the effect this was having on the king's sisters. Both of them were very curious women; the beating of her brother's servant seemed to affect Katyusha more than anyone. She was very gentle, a hard working girl, though there was no use of a mindset like that in the castle. Natalya on the other hand watched over with a cruel glare. She loved her brother more than anything, which was why it surprised Toris so much when Natalya of all people stood up for him. This was probably when Ivan's mind slipped from him. After that, he was even more unfit to be a ruler, and Natalya temporarily took over.

However, it was deemed unfitting that a woman rule the kingdom, and so under pressure by Katyusha, Natalya began to support Toris as king. I was subtle at first; she would send him money to hire someone to boat him to another town for a speech or quietly stand alongside his growing group of followers. Eventually though, she began to deliver his speeches with him, putting in great argumentation. She was truly an intelligent girl, and Toris thought that might have been when they both concocted the delusion of loving each other. Soon the pawns began to submit and agree to the pair. It was pretty hard to disagree with the frightening girl, Toris thought with a small, bittersweet chuckle to himself. After this turn of events, the bishops permitted the marriage of he two. Around this time, Ivan passed away. He had fallen out of a window in a drunken stupor. Though Natalya wept for her brother, Toris could not honestly say he had felt any remorse. He was simply there at the funeral to comfort Natalya. Even now he did not feel sadness for the cruel ex-king's death. This was one of the things he was most shameful about; Toris had always taken pride in the fact that he did not 'hate' anyone, but he realized now that the idea was a lie.

After their marriage Toris was officially crowned the king of Alabaster. He quickly went to work on the kingdom, first forming a peace treaty with Sable and then establishing alliances with the neighboring kingdoms. He smiled at the thought of the people he had met in the empire ruled by the Queen of Hearts. It was after he had began to form alliances that his relationship with his own queen began to go downhill. Over the years they distanced themselves from each other, and that was how they had come to have the bitter association with one another that they shared now.

Toris is sighed once again. Somehow he truly missed his days as a pawn. Normalcy was something he had not felt for a long time._ I wonder_, he pondered as his intelligent green eyes swept across his kingdom_, how Eduard and Raivis are doing. I haven't seen them in years_. Just as he was making up his mind to go and seek out his friends, a voice called him from the open doorway. He cringed at first, broken from his train of thought by what was most likely something the kingdom needed. He turned around, donning the serious face he used around his subordinates and equals. His eyes widened to see that it was not a bishop needing him but the Queen herself. "Uh, yes, Natalya?" he acknowledged her. It was not very typical of the queen to visit him in his quarters. Just looking at her now reminded him of why the Queen was the most powerful piece in either kingdom. Her smooth brown hair, a lighter shade of his own, fell down her back in a waterfall of finely brushed locks. A dark, cobalt blue bow was fashioned on top of her head; it matched the ocean-like cerulean of her eyes that swam with an emotion similar to doubt. She was one of the few members of the kingdom that did not adorn herself in white from head to toe. Personally Toris though the navy blues, azure and black shades of her outfit looked beautiful- it was a nice change from the stark, chalky white color of everything else, including his own clothing- but dark colors were looked down upon in Alabaster. Blacks and blues were symbolic of Sable, and while they were under treaty, that didn't mean there weren't bitter relations and the occasional fight over borders. "Toris?" A small blush dusted the man's face to realize he had gotten lost in thought yet again. "Sorry, what was that?"

"I just came up to let you know I'm going to go out for a while. Didn't want you to worry." It was common knowledge to the both of them that they often saw other people, normally pawns and the occasional bishop would strike up a relationship with one of the two royal pieces. It didn't really effect them. They were already so brash with each other that their marriage had become purely political long ago. As long as neither pointed it out, they were mutually fine with it. "That's alright. I was just thinking about heading out myself." He gave a small smile as he pulled on his cloak and followed Natalya out of the room. They walked in silence to the stairway and Toris watched as Natalya gracefully descended. He placed a hand on the smooth white rail- always white- and made his way down the stairway, his shoes making a soft click with each step. The tall, decorative white doors shuffled open and he stepped out into the warm sunshine, Natalya at his side.

Toris gave a small wave to the Queen as she headed in the opposite direction as he. With a sigh of relief, he started down the road he used to know so well. He smiled as he recognized the plaza that he used to give speeches in. The cobblestone was worn now, the benches crawling with vines, but the image in his mind was vivid; the circle in all it's glory, cobblestone giving off an almost polished sheen, plants cut back to perfect proportions, people in every possible space, surrounding him and either loudly disagreeing or energetically supporting his arguments. He could almost see himself standing in the center, dressed in his best white dress shirt and black pants. At that point in time his 'best' wasn't exactly very great, but he got by. He stuck his hands into his pockets, starting again down the street. Memories flashed in his mind as he passed familiar landmarks; the bakery where he and Eduard had snuck off with a whole basket of muffins before anyone had noticed and joyfully shared them with the other boys. He'd never forget the look on Peter's face when they'd handed him the warm treat. Or the old, collapsing building that the trio had adopted as their clubhouse. They'd had so many good times there that it was hard to count. He remembered with a slight chuckle the day he'd fallen out of the fourth floor window. Moments later he recalled he hadn't fallen, but rather jumped, as he'd been dared by... Matthias was it? He sighed, regretting that he hadn't spoken to his friends since those days.

He turned a corner. There it was, their home. It was a run down building now. Toris should have known better than to expect his friends would still be here after all these years. It had harbored them for a good amount of their lives, but those days were over long ago. Eduard and Raivis could have separated and moved, gone to another city, heck, they could have died for all Toris knew. With another sigh, he turned away, making his way back down the worn road. He noted subconsciously how close this part of he city was to the Sable border. _Perhaps_, he mused_, the three of us do not even originate in this country_. He'd never know; his parents had left him long before he began to remember things. Toris was so lost in thought that he didn't even realize there was another person in the vacinity until he was upon them, and was knocked back onto the ground.

He he looked up in surprise to see a girl in front of him, and a pretty girl at that. Looking closer, he realized it was a young woman he had bumped into, not much younger than himself, but she was rather thin. She wore a worn violet cloak over an even more torn up black shirt with ragged black pants and no shoes. She had straw-like, shoulder length blond hair that would have been beautiful if it were taken care of. In her bangs perched two red and white hair clips. Toris found it odd that she wore so little white. Was she not Alabastrian? But she had to be, Sabes very rarely crossed into Alabaster without political reason, and this girl was certainly not a member of any royal court. She must have just been a very poor pawn, he figured. Toris was glad he had chosen to leave his crown at the castle. He did not like feeling intimidating, and wearing the crown along with his expensive white shirt and pants would have most likely made the woman feel terrible. Toris stood, brushing himself off, and held out a hand to the girl. "I'm sorry to have knocked you down, miss," he greeted pleasantly. That was the thing about becoming royalty; you could never neglect manners again. "My name is Toris, Toris Laurainitis. What would your name be?" The woman stared at him for a moment, a pair of grassy green orbs much like his taking in every inch of him. After what seemed like an eternity, she lifted a pale, shaking hand and wrapped it around his own. Toris noted as he pulled her up that she had a surprisingly strong grip. "Felka," she answered him. "Felka..."

"Just Felka."

"Okay, Just Felka, what do you say I take you up to the town for a while?" He asked, figuring it couldn't do any harm. He gave Felka a genuine smile, something he hadn't given in quite a while. "Uh.. Sure," she agreed with a small nod. Soon he was expertly leading her back into the main part of town. They were now surrounded by shops, pawns and the occasional bishop or knight. Most of them gasped in surprise or waved tentatively when they saw him. "Sir?" Toris a almost jumped; Felka had been so silent until now. "Just call me Toris." Felka rolled her eyes. "Right.. So, like, why is everyone acting so weird around you?" A small smile crept up his face. "Well, Felka, that's the thing. I'm not your every day pawn or bishop. I'm the King." The blonde gasped; Toris loved seeing that expression. It never did get old. It was amusing enough that he didn't notice the flash of recognition and knowing in her eyes. "O-oh! I'm sorry your highness! I totally didn't realize it! I'm sorry I-" Toris cut her off. "I said it's Toris, and there's no need to apologize. A lady shouldn't be the one apologizing when a gentleman knocks her over." Felka raised one blonde eyebrow in a confused arch. "Okay, then, Toris." Toris shrugged. "Anyway, I was thinking we should go to the tailor. Not to offend you, ma'am, but you're in need of some new clothes." Felka huffed. "Like, okay. But only 'cause I'm being polite. Kay?" He laughed. "Sure." To her surprise, Toris took her hand, leading her down the street he knew so well. "Hey! Toris! This is totally undignified!" The comment only caused him to chuckle again. "It's not often I get to have the funs like this! Give me a break!" Toris gasped as he was knocked to the ground again for the second time in the last ten minutes. Felka had stopped stock still behind him. She placed her hands on her hips, looking down at him. "Okay then. You want to like, have some fun? Where's the tailor?" She smirked. "I'll totally race ya." A similar grin spread across Toris's own face. "Why not? I like you. Go down that street," he said, motioning, "and then go left. It's the third building on the ri-"

"Thanks, Tooooooooris!" He gasped as the voice interrupted his instruction. Toris looked up to see the blonde's back as she ran away at surprising speed. Her cloak whipped in the wind behind her, stray strings flying out everywhere. The torn, cut up edges of her pants were tousled by the breeze as she ran and her golden hair lifted in the air behind her. By the time Toris realized what had just happened, Felka was nearly around the bend. "*Dochfide," he cursed under his breath. Toris scrambled to his feet, shaking his head to clear it, she started after her. Though it'd been a while since he last ran through these streets, he was still confident enough to be rather fast and was able to catch up with Felka. "Hey! That's totally unfair! You like, used your strong fit guy powers on me!" Toris laughed at Felka's description of his speed. "Right... See you there!" Toris grinned mischeviously, racing ahead. By now they were both panting._ Reik, I'm getting out of shape_, He thought to himself with a chuckle. He skidded to a stop when he realized he was right in front of the tailor's shop. He leaned over, huffing and puffing with his hands on his knees. He looked up to see a pair of sharp green eyes. "Ah!" Toris bounced backwards, almost falling to the ground again. Felka laughed. "You like, beat me. So consolation prize time. You've gotta buy me some new clothes."

"I see," Toris smiled, standing up straight. "You raced me so buying the clothes would be fair, but you lost so you're doing the improvising." Felka narrowed her eyes. "No way I'd do something so stupid!" Toris rolled his eyes. "Right. Let's get you some clothes." Felka nodded. "Kay." Toris put an arm around the blonde with a sly grin, taking note of the blush dusting her cheeks. He led her into the building. It was small, a single room, but filled with fabric and thread. Scissors, patterns and needles littered the room and the floor was hardly visible. There was even clothing and cloth dangling from the ceiling. "Mrs. Héderváry? You here?" He called, smiling. The clothing shifted and suddenly there was a woman in front of them. "Oh, tossetei, Mr. Laurainatis," she greeted. Mrs.Héderváry had palish, pink tinted skin and hair the color of milky coffee. Her eyes were a bright green; green or blue eyes were pretty common in he kingdom. She wore a green dress with a white apron and a black bow around her neck. She had a white hat on, decorated by an orange flower. "**Tossetei, Elizabeta. I met this girl today and I'm going to be a gentleman and buy her a new outfit." Mrs.Héderváry's gaze was not scrutinizing or scournful, but only observant. Toris could tell she was sizing the blonde up in measurements, deciding what colors would look best on her-though it was obvious there would be a lot of white involved. Suddenly the women's face lit up. "Ja, I got it now! I have the perfect outfit!" Toris chuckled good naturedly. "She's always getting the ideas..." Felka looked up at him. "T-thanks.." She murmured. Toris blushed. "You're welcome I guess.."

"I'm back!"

Toris looked up from the younger Albastrian to see Elizabeta approaching them, dress in hand. "I've got the perfect dress!" She announced. Felka's face lit up like a candle. "It's.. Like... Fabulous!" She exclaimed, pressing her hands to her face. The dress was similar to Mrs.Héderváry's own, but not quite as poofy. It was about ankle length and had a full skirt, with 3-quarter length pink sleeves. It was mostly white with pink accents. She also held a pair of simple pink flats. "I love it!" Felka announced again. Toris laughed. "It's yours. How much is it, Mrs. Héderváry?" He asked. Minutes later, he had paid for the dress and they were on their way out. "I want to put it on!" Felka begged. Toris sighed. "I don't know where you would do the changing." The blonde raised an eyebrow challengingly. The brunette struggled to keep himself from smiling at the expression and turned back to Elizabeta. "Mrs. Héderváry, I hate to be rude, but can Felka change in there?" He asked, scratching the back of his head. Elizabeta smiled warmly. "Go ahead," she agreed, opening the door to let Felka in. The shorter blonde squealed- yes, she SQUEALED- and snatched the dress from his hand. She rushed inside, still grinning like a kid in a candy store.

Toris raised an eyebrow, shaking his head as he waited for the blonde to return. Ten minutes later she emerged from the shop, dressed in the new outfit. The king couldn't help but admit that the young pawn looked beautiful in the silky dress. The torso of it attached to her form perfectly and the skirt made her look softer somehow. "How do I look?" Felka asked, breaking Toris from his trance. "Oh! You look lovely," he smiled warmly. Felka clasped her hands together, holding one leg up behind her in a rather cliche manner. "Thanks!" The blonde stuck her arms out and spun around. The skirt of the dress twirled in beautiful white waves around her as if she were a ballet dancer. "That was some nice twirling," Toris grinned. "Come on. We have more things to be doing." Though Felka raised an eyebrow, she took his outstretched hand and followed him out onto the path by the road again.

Toris started down the street with Felka at his side. He smiled at passer-bys, grinning when they complimented Felka- and a lot of people complimented Felka. "Where are we going anyway?" the aforementioned blonde asked. "You'll see. It's somewhere I've wanted to go for a while now, but never had someone to go with." Felka sighed in curious exasperation. Toris was definitely one to keep secrets for the fun of it. Fifteen minutes of begging for answers later, they arrived at their destination.

It was a small building- not nearly as small as Elizabeta's shop, but definitely not a castle- decorated with white. A warm yellow white pooled in the spaces below it's windows; the sky was beginning to darken, making the place seem even more inviting. A short set of steps led up onto a small porch with a swing; it was perhaps a converted house. A song, played by a violin and flute duet by the sound of it, could be heard softly outside, along with laughing, talking and clapping. "What's this?" Felka asked, looking up at Toris. "It's an inn-type place. People do the dancing and eating here, and it's really fun. But most people bring someone with them. I don't have many real friends, so I figured I'd bring you." Felka raised an eyebrow. "Okay, I guess that makes sense. We're friends, right?" Toris nodded, smiling, and led the way into the building.

The music momentarily paused as the pawns examined the pair standing before them. They had a very regular group of people, and newcomers weren't too common. That paired with the fact that it was their king standing before them drew their attention. When greeted with a small wave to demonstrate friendly intentions, they soon resumed their festivities. Toris smiled when he realized he'd been right about the instruments being played. A smartly dressed brunette with a stubborn, sticking out piece of hair sat by the piano, tapping out a song with hands that were rather feminine for a man. A few feet away stood a blond with a beret-style hat with a ribbon attached; he also had a stubborn piece of hair, but instead of sticking up from his bangs, it was a curl on the left side of his head that almost seemed to be floating there on his own. He wore a long-sleeved blue and white outfit that matched his hat and almost made him look as if he belonged on a boat, and was playing a violin at a very fast speed along with the other man's piano. A group of people stood in the center of the room, some of which were dancing excitedly with their partners, others that stood on the sidelines and clapped along. "Come on," Toris grinned as they switched songs, taking her hand again and pulling her into the circle of dancers. They swung back and forth within the throng of people for a while before slowing down as they became more breathless. At that moment the music slowed; perhaps the musicians' fingers were growing tired, or they noticed the dancers themselves tiring. Either way, Toris was going to take advantage of it. He smiled at Felka. Though they'd already been dancing for a while, he figured he might as well ask. "Felka, may I have this dance?" He asked, kneeling with his hand held out to her. This caused a very pink shade to spread over her face; not used to being treated like a lady, she wasn't sure how to react. "U-uh, you may?" she stammered. Chuckling, Toris stood up again, placing a hand at her waist and lacing the fingers of his other hand with hers. She put her free hand instinctively on his shoulder and they danced just like that, slowly moving around the room with the other people.

"Are you enjoying it?" Toris asked, breaking Felka from her trance. "Oh? Yes, I am. Thanks," she smiled. "For what?" he questioned with a raised eyebrow. "Everything this evening. It's been wonderful." Toris smiled softly, looking down into her intelligent green eyes with his similarly colored ones. "It was no problem, I've had fun." After a while, the inn started to clear out, leaving them with just a small amount of people. They slowly stopped dancing, separating to instead by some food. "They cook really well here," Felka sighed with bliss, singing her teeth into a pastry of some sort. "Yes, they do," Toris agreed, silently adding that his cooks were better. They'd soon finished and had now exited back into the cool nighttime. "It's really nice in Alabaster at night," the blonde pawn commented, fingers laced with Toris's as they stared into the sky. "It is. I love my country more than life itself," Toris admitted truthfully. He wasn't looking to notice her wince slightly at this. "Y-yeah. Come on, let's walk some more," she urged, motioning down the street. With a laughing sigh, Toris followed her into a park-like area. He'd been here once or twice before but wasn't very familiar with it. There was a circular path surrounding a similarly shaped pond, and the whole area was rather thickly wooded. Soft grass sprung up beneath their feet.

"It's a very pretty area, isn't it?" Toris asked as he caught up with Felka. "Very! It's fabulous, especially the pink flowers in the trees." Toris smiled gently, clasping her pale hand in his larger one. "You could almost call it perfect," he agreed, leaning back against a tree. Felka looked up at him for a moment, eyebrows furrowed in an almost worried expression, before relaxing against the tree as well. He looked down at her moments after her expression returned to its wistful smile and curved a hand around the small of her back, pulling her towards him. "You know what I think?" Toris asked softly as Felka looked up at him, hand on his shoulder. "Hmm?" the pawn prompted. "I haven't known you long, but I think maybe I *painaiio." Felka's mouth fell open slightly at the unexpected proclamation. "Maybe aj painaiio neim," she sighed. She was further surprised when Toris suddenly bent down slightly, tilting her face up towards his and pressing her soft lips to his own.

Felka smiled in a bittersweet way as they separated. "Hey, Toris, there's something I've been meaning to say since I met you," she sighed. He looked down at her; it almost hurt her, because his eyes were filled with nothing but blind love and hers were dulled with betrayal. But Felka was an assassin, this was the kind of 'love' she trained for. "Really? What's that?" Toris asked, a far-away look on his face. "It's really more of a message," she replied honestly, before adding quietly, "from the king of Sable."

Toris instantly turned to reality at that single phrase, a look of shock and fear on his face. "What? Are you saying you're-" The words of half a question were hardly out of his mouth before a thin blade was pressed to his throat. His eyes widened and he instinctively pressed harder up against the tree behind him. The teeth of the knife pricked his neck, small droplets of blood running down to stain his pristine white shirt. "F-felka, what are you doing?" he strained. While he was a strong king, the position he was in left no room for his arms to move and save himself. It was something he hadn't felt since his days as Ivan's slave-pawn:  
Utter helplessness.

A small smirk crawled up Felka's previously innocent face, though tears pricked at her eyes, threatening to spill over. Toris was not as in control of his emotions. Small rivulets of salty water streamed down his face, mixing in with the blood on his neck. "Toris, you fool, I was never Alabastrian.. you're so naive." Toris gulped as the knife pressed harder on his throat. Felka bit her lip. It was her mission, but could she really pull it off? Kill the man who'd been kinder to her in one day than Gilbert ever had in eight years? Of course.. this was what all her training was for, right? "I'm sorry, Toris," the blonde sighed, choking down the lump forming in her throat. With one swift movement, she pressed it down, slicing cleanly through the shocked king's neck.

"Checkmate."

|Epilogue|

It was days later that Toris's body was found, slumped on the ground in a secluded clearing in the park. Blood stained his shirtfront and severed neck, but what was most shocking was the expression on his face, one of pure heartbreak. Tearstains still remained on the fallen king's cheeks from that night. Of course, Natalya was in shock. No matter how much she chose to ignore it, she still loved Toris more than anything, and seeing him killed with that emotion... it killed her inside. One week after his dead, on Toris's birthday, his funeral was held. The whole kingdom came, dressed in the cursed color black.

By far the most distraught was the queen herself, leaning over her husband's grave and crying with no discretion as to who saw her. It was a pretty normal funeral; grey clouds gathered over the sky and soaking the drenching mourners as various people said last words about their king. "This isn't fair.. you could see him when he died.. his heart was.. someone.. some stupid girl!" Natalya sobbed, pounding her fists in a rather unladylike manner on her knees. Another girl, much quieter, sobbed under a dark veil mere feet away; a mysterious blond with green eyes that no one knew. She carried a bundle of soft white roses that were continually being spattered in raindrops and her own tears. _She's right, a stupid girl who thought she loved her country more than life itself,_ she thought to herself.

Long after everyone had left, Natalya still lay there curled up next to Toris's gravestone. Her face was soaked in tears and she still clenched her fists close to her, but she had long since fallen asleep, letting out soft sobs in her slumber. It was then that the unknown girl found it appropriate to give her final gift to King Lauranitis. She quietly walked up to the grave, laying the bundle of white roses next to the headstone. Secluded from prying eyes by the roses was a small blade; her favorite weapon and the only one she ever used for her assassinations. It was still stained with the King's blood. Laying one white rose by Natalya, she whispered, "I'm so, so sorry." This was all she could manage before breaking into tears and fleeing the site.

_Checkmate.._

*Pronounced Doshe-fee-day, made up curse word  
**made up word for hello, pronounced toss-a-tie  
*love you, pronounced pine-ay-o


End file.
